Prince Harry and Meghan break six months of silence with call for King's birthday

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke with King Charles for his 75th birthday in a call that reportedly marks their first conversation since just before the coronation.

King Charles is understood to have enjoyed a "friendly and cordial" chat with his son and daughter-in-law amid a day of engagements.

"The King was extremely busy but is polite and loves his son and his grandchildren, and not so mean that he would not take a call on his birthday," a source tells UK newspaper The Sun.

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The confirmation comes after the BBC initially reported on plans for a transatlantic phone call between father and son on the milestone birthday.

The source quoted by the tabloid appears to suggest that His Majesty also spoke with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet during the call.

It's understood the monarch and Duke of Sussex have not spoken face-to-face since Queen Elizabeth's funeral last year, with Prince Harry only having spoke to his father over the phone in April ahead of the coronation.

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When Harry visited London in March, for a hearing in one of his many lawsuits, the King was too "busy" for a meeting, palace insiders claimed at the time.

Then, when the Duke of Sussex was in London for a court case against publishers of the UK tabloid The Mirror in June, King Charles went on a solo hiking trip to Transylvania.

During interviews for the release of his memoir Spare, which detailed the fractured relationship the prince has with his family, Harry said he was hoping to heal the rift with his father and his brother, Prince William.

However, he made clear it wouldn't be an easy road to healing and was hoping they would reach out to him for constructive talks and an apology.

Prince Harry also told Oprah Winfrey in their 2021 interview that his father had stopped taking his calls after he and Meghan announced they were stepping back from their royal roles.

The phone call for the King's birthday is seen as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex offering an olive branch to the royal family in a bid to move forward under this reign.